by Gabon is part of the Cameroon Yaoundé Mission which as of 2023 has missionaries in Gabon and Cameroon and covers Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea. I asked someone who served in Gabon what his experience was like. This is what he wrote:
Hey everyone! My name is Oliver Heady and today I’ve been asked by (the former) Elder Hanna to talk a little bit about what it’s like serving a mission in Gabon. I served in the Republic of the Congo Brazzaville mission, kinda…
Back in our day, the Republic of the Congo Brazzaville mission included 5 countries: The Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea. But since we’ve left, it’s been split into two missions, which just means the Congo has become its own mission and the other four countries became the Cameroon Yaoundé mission, which is where my adventure began! I had the opportunity to serve in two cities: Yaoundé, Cameroon, and Libreville, Gabon. I had such an amazing experience in both cities and I learned so much about myself and about Christ.
Enough with the introductions, let’s talk about Gabon! When I left Cameroon, I was heartbroken. I had fallen in love with the Cameroonian people, and I wrote in my journal “This is it! I’ve reached the peak of my mission. There’s no way it can get better from here.”
Boy, was I wrong.
Libreville is an interesting part of the mission, because, similarly to how Elder Hanna has described Douala, we are on our own. When I arrived on the mission, there were only 4 missionaries in Gabon, and only one branch. When I arrived in Libreville 9 months later, there were 8 missionaries and 2 branches. When I left, there were 12 missionaries and talks of splitting the branches. But in all of this, we were totally alone to fend for ourselves. There were no couple missionaries in the country, No stake or district presidents, and almost no return missionaries or experienced members of The Church we could rely on. The Mission President only came to visit every 2 or 3 months, and because of this, we were a very tight-knit group. We were all having fun and doing our best to figure out missionary work in a country that was new to the Gospel! Elder Bednar officially opened the first branch in Libreville in 2013, so EVERYONE is a recent convert, which made the work very interesting. A lot of what we did was try to train the members how to be exemplary members of the church, and even train the Branch Presidents on the manuals on administration and how to run the church. It’s exactly how I imagine Cameroon was 20 years ago.
But Libreville is a very interesting city, because almost half the country’s population lives in this capital city, which makes it both large and diverse. Because of the country’s oil exports, the government has more money (proportionally) than Cameroon, which in theory, should trickle down to the citizens; instead, sadly, it’s created quite a big wage gap, in which you’re either rich, with a house and a real car, or you’re dirt poor – there’s no in between. We taught people on both sides of the spectrum, and the branches had people from both ends, and fortunately there was no animosity or division because of this in the Church (as far as I could tell).
I love Christ and I’m so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve him in Central Africa. The people I met, and the experiences I had, can never be replaced. But wherever you serve the Lord, you’ll learn and grow so much, as long as you work hard and you’re obedient. Stay safe, and wear a mask!
10 Interesting Observations of Gabon Culture
Another returned missionary who served in Gabon wrote 10 observations of Gabon:
1. The Gabonese love sleeping. Sometimes when planning around 9 or 10, we will be waking our amis up when we call them.
2. Gabonese people LOVE miracles. Each of the countries had lots of churches, but the most interesting doctrinal lessons I have ever had were in Libreville.
3. Gabon is pretty stable power and water-wise compared to the other two. If power goes out, it seldom is out longer than 30-45 minutes
4. Gabon is really hot! Douala is more humid, I would say, but Gabon gets really hot during the rainy season.
5.Many Gabonese people are traditional and practice some of their old tribal practice. One is not unfamiliar after some time with terms like “le bois sacré” and connecting spiritually with ancestors.
6. Gabon, like Cameroun, has a plethora of ethnicities and dialects, from Fang to Punu to miené to many others. Learning bits of their dialects, particularly Fang and Punu, can be a cool tool to break the ice.
7. There are lots of foreigners in Gabon. Most of the people that run boutiques are either from Mali, Senegal and Mauritania. If you are there, be prepared to meet many different kinds of Africans.
8. The Church is extremely young in Gabon. It wasn’t officially there until 2013, and there are only two branches. Lots of the work in Gabon has been helping members to better understand how the church works and fortifying their testimonies of the Book of Mormon.
9. Life is more expensive in Gabon than in Congo or Cameroon. To buy a big pineapple can be 1000F to 1500 F, as opposed to Cameroun where you can buy 3 decent sized ones for 1000. Keeping a good budget is pretty important to avoid l’apostasie financière.
10. The visa process to enter the country is very complicated and expensive, so if you are there, you will often be there for at least 7.5 months. Enjoy it, it’s really a magnificent place
Cool story from a member in Gabon:
